The Other Twin Peaks

I decided to head off the beaten path a bit out towards the Valley.  Usually I take that route to explore the granite spires of Hatcher Pass, but this time deviated towards the Old Glenn Highway with valley local Mitch.

The saddle between East and West Twin Peaks was the destination (the obvious low point in the center of this photo).

We didn't make the best terrain decision, as the back side of this skin track required us to descend about 300 vertical feet that had been baking in the sun all day.  We lived to ski another day.  We did see some other tracks over near POW/MIA, which appear to be these guys.

The approach and ski back to the truck was one of the worst i've experienced.  Alders and Devils Club as thick as thieves.  Made the beers back at the truck taste extra good!

Things will slow down here a bit.  Working next weekend, playing the last weekend in April, and then working again for my 15 days of mandatory fun!  Then we head to the Gulkana for Memorial Day, followed by the real work - building a cabin!

Until next time.  I'm still picking Devils Club out of my arms and legs...

Dusk Patrol

WOW!  That's all I can say.  I've been neglecting North Bowl this year, either due to bad visibility or weather.  This was not the case last night.  B-real and I rallied for an after work powder mission...with Dogface in close pursuit on the Uptrack.  I've got to say that this is my favorite time of year - longer days and good snow!

Anchorage-ites were encased in a fog sarcophagus, while we were climbing in the warm setting sun.  There was no wind, but 'ol man wind had its way with the South Fork on Saturday.  I observed several small natural slab avalanches and cornice breaks through the terrain.  We skied some nice 2-3" dust on a supportable base back to the trailhead.

Here is a quick video edit that I put together of my initial descent.  Some day i'll call this LB's run....my favorite!


I have a feeling that with these conditions Gordon Lyon will be slayed in a subsequent after work hammer fest.  I haven't been around here as long as some of the "graybeards", but the skiing and stability has been phenomenal - no PWL's (persistent weak layers) and a deep snowpack = LOW danger!

Ski safe and enjoy!

Taming the Lyon

“Even the boldest zebra fears the hungry lion.”

I guess that's how we approached Mount Gordon Lyon.  The tallest looming peak in the Arctic Valley drainage begs to get skied as you drive down the Glenn Highway and stare at its inviting north face.  Fellow Eagle River skiers B-real, Eric and The Hoff set out to climb and ski the inviting powdery slopes of the Site Summit ridge.

B-real makes his way towards the Cook Inlet.

Eric being chased by his own lion, Stella.

Contemplating why they call this Mount Gordon Lyon...

So I looked it up.  Its ironic that Gordon M. Lyon was an employee at the Corps of Engineers in the Alaska District as a project engineer in charge of construction of the Army Nike Missle site , and later engineer in charge of the Site Summit Nike station. 

Winter is Still Here...

Thank you Mother Nature for the Front Range refresh!  Two minor storms dumped about 6 inches of spring powder and reset the brutally wind hammered western Chugach.  Spring really hasn't sprung yet, and places south of Anchorage are currently on the receiving end of the fire hose.

The deteriorating snow conditions allowed me to make good use of my Level II skills and geeked out in some snow pits on Harp and Tincan before having to go back to work.  109 days off - but now I don't have to shave everyday and I get to pick out what I wear each morning.

B-real and I refilled the stoke tank with an apres-work ski outing to Hiland Road.  There was a small wind event that gave us just enough trouble on the uptrack to be spooked.  Some fat and bulbous pockets of soft slab were noted, with whumping above slope, underfoot, and down slope.  It took some careful and conservative route finding. 

But we finally found what we were looking for.

 Straight line distance to Anchortown - 14.37 miles!

 Me and LB enjoying April cold smoke.

We caught the perfect soft light weather window.  There is a "mega-storm" wreaking havoc in Alaska right now.  This monster will hopefully prolong our ski season.

And finally, a ski guide was caught in an avalanche which resulted in a full burial yesterday afternoon while conducting snow assessment.  Good job on the rescue!  Read the report in today's advisory.

Hometown Skiing

The Chugach Front Range certainly did not get the amount of wind that Turnagain Pass had over the weekend.  I expected the normal boilerplate, but was rewarded with some nice wind-buffed powder.  The ridge tops were pretty scoured, but gullies and lower elevation runs held good skiable snow.

Tyler snagging first tracks.

Disclaimer: There was no trespassing conducted during the making of these powder turns.

After Work Commute

Tis the season for after work skiing.  Newlyweds Matt and Agnes Hage headed up to Peak 3 for a quick ski.  Conditions didn't look like spring skiing from our point of view.  We saw other usuals headed up to get the goods, like Billy Finley.

The Anchorage Ants making the nightly commute.  It looks like Peak 3 is erupting.  Not another Mount Reroute, I mean Redoubt.

The weather was calling for high winds.  Spindrifts and plumes coming off of Peak 2 and Flattop.

Conditions were better than expected.  We found decent wind buffed powder on the top 1/3, and breakable styrofoam wind slab on the lower reaches of the valley.  Not bad for an afternoon jaunt.

"The Misses" (AKA Agnes) ripping it up.

"The Mister" (AKA Matt, #1, The Shralpster) dropping the knee.

Quotes I heard during the tour:
"Lets go find some windslab!!"
"If you want summer, go to Fairbanks"
"It doesn't look like spring up here."

Happy April 20th you hippies!

Jewel Glacier

We decided to head south to the Jewel Glacier for some turns. Starting from the Crow Creek trailhead in Girdwood, we only had to walk for about 30 minutes before skinning up. After getting about half way up the Jewel, we got chased off due to low visibility and high winds.

On the return trip we ran into some folks who were heading to the Jewel but instead we booted up the saddle that overlooks the Milk Glacier.


A steep little line with decent firm snow.

The reward was Oktoberfest at the Alyeska Daylodge!

Wolverine

An after work hike takes me to Wolverine Peak, on the front side of the range and into Anchorage. Starting from the Prospect Heights Trailhead, it is a 5 mile hike to the summit; making a 10 mile round trip. It was cloudy and socked in on the summit.

After linking up with some friends, it was time for the descent. It cleared up on the way down, with a good view of Anchorage and the peaks on the other side of Cook Inlet.

With a brisk pace, we ran the last mile of the trail. Total hiking time round trip was just under 4 hours. Total distance is 10 miles.

Temptation Peak

I figured I would start this website with a rarely traveled Chugach Peak - Snowhawk Valley and Temptation Peak. Located on Fort Richardson property, the Upper Snowhawk Cabin is located 6 miles from the trailhead back in the Snowhawk amphitheater. We bagged Temptation on Saturday night, with awesome views of the Ship Creek Valley.

The cabin had everything you need for a weekend outing, complete with stove, sleeping bags, food, etc. I awoke early Sunday morning to absolute epic views of Denali and the peaks of the Alaska Range.

After breakfast and packing up our stuff, we headed to Kanchee Point. The clouds quickly engulfed us and we got socked in up on the ridge line. We decided to head back instead of continuing to Knoya Point. We retrieved our packs and headed out of the valley 5.5 miles through the Devils Club, Cow Parsnip, and mud holes to the trailhead.

The Snowhawk Valley will definitely be a spring skiing destination!!